Sectional partition.



3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I V J Patentd May 18, 1915a A. U GERBER.

SECTIONAL PARTITION.

APPLICATION FILED AUG-1611912- eff Wi'imsw:

A. Di GERBER.

SECTIONAL PARTITION.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 16. 1912.

Patented May 18, 1915. I {Z 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 w ws:

A. D. GERBER.

SECTIONAL PARTITION.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. I6. I912.

1,139,6W0 Patented M& 18,'1915.

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ALBERT 1). GERBER, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

SECTIONAL PARTITION.

manner.

Specificati eers Patent. Patented 1W3 1'18, 1%}15.

Application filed August 16, 1912. Serial No. 715,373.

ToaZZ whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ALBERT D. GERBER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sectional Partitions, of which the following is a specification. I

My invention relates to sectional partitions, that is to say, to partitions which are made in interchangeable sections at the factory and which are so constructed and arranged as to be readily erected at the desired place by persons not necessarily having any great degree of skill, and which may be taken down and shifted if desired to other locations and in other combinations and arrangements of the sections.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a sectional partition which may be readily erected and taken down and the parts thereof joined together so that, when erected, they will be rigidly secured to the floor and the adjoining sections tightly secured to each other.

A further object of my invention is to pro-- vide means whereby the base finish may be readily adjusted to compensate for any irregularity in the floor structure, and my invention further contemplates simple and efficient covering means for the joints between the adjoining sections.

The nature and characteristic features of my invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof,! in which-- Figure 1 is a front elevation of a series of partition sections erected and joined together, one of said sections being a door section, and the covering stripibeing removed from one of the joints; Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary elevation, partly in section,'of a portion of the structure shown in Fig. 1, enlarged, and illustrating more clearly the manner of securing the sections to each other and to the floor; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail view showing in elevation a modified form of joining an ordinary section to one of the stiles of a'door section; Fig. dis a fragmentary elevational view illustrating the upper portions of two sections which are shown slightly separated to more clearly illustrate the manner of joining the same together; Fig. 5 is an edge view of the upper portion of one of the sections shown in Fig. 4; Fig. 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 66 of Fig. 1, illustrating the construction of the lower portion of one vof the partition sections, and showing more particularly the means for adjusting the base finish'to the floor; Fig. 7 is a similar view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1, illustrating a portion of the construction of the door section; Fig. 8 is a top or plan View at the joint between two adjoining sections Fig. 9 is a horizontal section on the line 99 of Fig.- 2, illustrating the construction of the joint between two ad oining sections; Figs. lOand 11 are respectively ed e and rear elevational views of a preferre form of covering strip which is used to makean efi'ective finish at the joints; and Figs. 12 and 13 are respectively side and front elevations of a winding device which is used for tightening a wire or oablewhich is employed for securing. the sections to each other and to the floor.

Referring to the drawings, in the particular embodiment of my invention therein shown, A is an ordinary section and B is a door section, each having the vertical stiles 15 and 16 at the right and left hand sides respectively. The sections maybe constructed in any suitable manner with desirable arrangements'of paneling according to the particular type orornamentation do, sired. .The adjoining faces of the stiles 15 and 16 are provided with suitable spacing blocks 17 preferably arranged at intervals and alternatelydisposed upon the respective stiles 15 and 16 (see Figs. 2 and 4). The spacing blocks 17 are arranged at the sides on the adjoining surfaces of the stiles 15 and 16 so as to leave a space orlchannel 18 therebetween. Mounted also in the adjoining faces of the respective stiles l5 and 16 arehooks 19 which are also alternately (he posed in the respective stiles (see Figs. 1 and 2). A hook 20 is mounted in theup er end of the left hand stile 16 and to this ook is secured one end of a wire or cable 21 which extends between the stiles 15 and 16 which, as before stated, are saparated by the blocks 17, the Wire or cable 21 engaging the alternately disposed hooks 19 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings. The wire or cable21 asses around a pulley or other suitable device 22 which is mounted in the floor near the lower end of the left hand stile 16, thence extending beneath the partition section to another pulley 23 likewise secured in thefloor, the ,wire then passing around this pulley 23' and extending upwardly to a Winding device 24 which 'is shown in detail in Figs. 12'and 13.

The wind' jg :device 24 comprises a shaft '25- having a'square end 26 for engagement by s'uitable wrench or key, notshown, the

4 shaft 25 being-mounted in the bracket 27 andhaving a drum member 28 mounted be- -'t.ween'the side portions 29 of said bracket 27. There is also mounted on the shaft 25 a ratchet wheel 30, the teeth of which are engaged by a pawl 31 which is maintained in operative relation therewith by means of a spring 32. Any other suitable form of winding or tightening device maybe emtions to each other and to the floor.

ployed in place of the structure as thus described, the essential requirement being that the wire may be drawn and maintained taut for the purpose of rigidly holding the sec- It will be noted-that-the alternately disposed hooks 19 which are mounted in the stiles 15 and 16 are preferably arranged out of alinement with each other so that when the wire is drawn taut the adjoining portions of the sections will be drawn and held to each other and to the fioor under a considerable tensionwhich is regulated by the winding device 24.

As before stated the tightening wire 21 Y asses from thepulley 22 to the pulley 23 V eneath -the partition section, the same being suitably cut out to permit this location of the wire, and this same construction may be employed for the door section as shown at the lower right hand portion of Fig. 2

by providing a threshold or carpet strip 33 which may be longitudinally I grooved as at 34 (see also Fig. 7) for the location of the wire 21. Where, however,

it is not desirable to employ a threshold or carpet strip, the wire 21 after passing over of the drawings.

the g ulley 22 may extend upwardly to a I carrying a cornice block 36 at its upper end and a base block 37 at its lower end. The

. strip 35 and its blocks 36 and 37 may be suitably shaped or molded to form a pilaster effect at the joint and the strip 35 is preferably mounted to the sections by means of hooks-38 provided on its rear face, which hooks respectively engage screw-eyes 39 which are-mounted at complemental locations on the stiles 15 and 16 and projecting therefrom in the space provided by the separating blocks 17. The base block 37 is preferably secured to the strip 35 so as to be capable of a slight vertical adjustment with respect thereto, whereby the same can be readily made to conform to any slight irregularity of the floor surface, this object being attained by slotting the strip 35 as at 40 and there are provided screws 41 which extend through the slots 40 into the of the base block 37. In order to provide a finish which can readily be adjusted to any irregularity in the floor surface, there is provided an auxiliary base molding 44 which carries inwardly extending screws 45 which pass through slots 46 in the base board or molding 43, as clearly. shown in Figs. 2 and 6. The screws 41 which carry the base block 37 of the covering strip 35, and the screws 45 above referred to, may be preliminarily tightened so as to frictionall'y hold their respective members at the desired positions.

In erecting the sections, the pulleys 22 and 23 are first mounted in the floor on the line of the desired location of the partitions and at distances corresponding to the widths of the respective sections. The wire 21 is then secured at one end to the book 20 and laced through the hooks 19 of the adjoining edges of the sections, the wire being then passed around the pulley 22, then under the section and around the pulley 23 and the other end connected to the drum 28 of the winding device 24. The shaft 25 is then rotated until the wire is under suflicient tension. to securely hold the section, the ratchet 30 and its pawl 31 serving to maintain the tension. If at any time'it is desired to shift the partition to another location, or to change an ordinary section for a door, section or vice versa, this object may be obtained without any damage to the sections, it being necessary only to arbitrarily release the pawl 31 and permit the wire to unwind from the drum 28 and disengage the same from the hooks 19 after which the section candbe readily removed and shifted as desire Having thus described the nature and characteristic" features of .my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. A partitionstructure comprising interchangeablesections, and means for securing said sections to each other and to the floor, saidmeans consisting of a flexible wire or cable, devices engaged by said wire carried by adjoiningportions of the sections, said devices carried by one section being arranged out of alinement with those carried by the other section, and devices mounted in the floor engaged by said wire.

2. A partition structure comprising interchangeable sections, a flexible wire or cable for securing said sections to each other, s

witnesses.

' ALBERT D. GERBER. Witnesses:

WIIJJAM S. ATcHIsoN, H. B. PAINTER. 

